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After passing perihelion on July 2nd, Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) has now moved into the early morning sky. On July 22nd it shone at magnitude +6.3, therefore just beyond naked eye visibility but bright enough to be seen with binoculars and small telescopes. The comet is now slowly decreasing in magnitude but will remain bright enough to be visible with binoculars and small scopes for many weeks to come.

Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) imaged from Siding Spring Observatory on March 14, 2014 (Rolando Ligustri)

Location and star chart

Jacques spends the last week of July and the first part of August moving in a northwest direction through the constellation of Auriga. It then passes into Perseus on August 5th remaining there until the 15th, before moving into the sparse dim constellation of Camelopardalis. During this time, it's expected Jacques will fade in brightness from magnitude +6.3 to +7.0. For Northern Hemisphere observers, the comet is now well placed for observation. It's visible towards the east in the morning sky, improving in latitude as the month progress. From Southern Hemisphere latitudes Jacques is visible very low towards the eastern sky during morning twilight at the end of July, but is then quickly lost to the bright glare of the Sun and won't be visible again until early September.

The finder chart below shows the positions of Jacques from July 19 to August 10, 2014.

Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) Finder Chart from July 19 to August 10, 2014

Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) Finder Chart from July 19 to August 10, 2014 - pdf format

C/2014 E2 (Jacques) Data (at epoch May 23, 2014)

NameC/2014 E2 (Jacques)
TypeComet
DiscovererCristovao Jacques, Eduardo Pimentel and Joao Ribeiro de Barros
Discovery dateMarch 13, 2014
Aphelion (AU)1445.3
Perihelion (AU)0.66384
Semi-major axis722.98
Eccentricity0.9991
Orbital period (years)19440
Inclination (degrees) 156.39
Longitude of ascending node (degrees)56.389
Perihelion July 2, 2014
Notes Magnitude +14.7 at discovery

Comet (C/2014 E2) Jacques Data Table

DateRight AscensionDeclinationMag.Distance from Earth (AU)Constellation
15 Jul 201405h 35m 54s26d 12m 52s6.11.433Taurus
16 Jul 201405h 34m 18s26d 42m 25s6.11.413Taurus
17 Jul 201405h 32m 41s27d 12m 41s6.11.393Taurus
18 Jul 201405h 31m 03s27d 43m 45s6.21.372Taurus
19 Jul 201405h 29m 24s28d 15m 40s6.21.351Taurus
20 Jul 201405h 27m 43s28d 48m 28s6.31.329Auriga
21 Jul 201405h 26m 00s29d 22m 14s6.31.307Auriga
22 Jul 201405h 24m 16s29d 57m 02s6.31.285Auriga
23 Jul 201405h 22m 29s30d 32m 56s6.41.262Auriga
24 Jul 201405h 20m 40s31d 09m 59s6.41.239Auriga
25 Jul 201405h 18m 47s31d 48m 18s6.41.216Auriga
26 Jul 201405h 16m 51s32d 27m 58s6.51.193Auriga
27 Jul 201405h 14m 51s33d 09m 03s6.51.169Auriga
28 Jul 201405h 12m 46s33d 51m 41s6.61.145Auriga
29 Jul 201405h 10m 36s34d 35m 56s6.61.121Auriga
30 Jul 201405h 08m 19s35d 21m 57s6.61.097Auriga
31 Jul 201405h 05m 56s36d 09m 49s6.71.072Auriga
01 Aug 201405h 03m 24s36d 59m 41s6.71.048Auriga
02 Aug 201405h 00m 43s37d 51m 41s6.71.024Auriga
03 Aug 201404h 57m 52s38d 45m 56s6.80.999Auriga
04 Aug 201404h 54m 49s39d 42m 35s6.80.975Auriga
05 Aug 201404h 51m 33s40d 41m 47s6.80.951Auriga
06 Aug 201404h 48m 00s41d 43m 41s6.80.927Perseus
07 Aug 201404h 44m 10s42d 48m 25s6.90.903Perseus
08 Aug 201404h 39m 59s43d 56m 07s6.90.879Perseus
09 Aug 201404h 35m 24s45d 06m 54s6.90.855Perseus
10 Aug 201404h 30m 22s46d 20m 53s6.90.832Perseus
11 Aug 201404h 24m 46s47d 38m 08s6.90.809Perseus
12 Aug 201404h 18m 33s48d 58m 38s7.00.787Perseus
13 Aug 201404h 11m 35s50d 22m 21s7.00.765Perseus
14 Aug 201404h 03m 45s51d 49m 07s7.00.744Perseus
15 Aug 201403h 54m 53s53d 18m 36s7.00.723Camelopardalis
16 Aug 201403h 44m 46s54d 50m 19s7.00.703Camelopardalis
17 Aug 201403h 33m 12s56d 23m 28s7.00.684Camelopardalis
18 Aug 201403h 19m 54s57d 56m 57s7.00.667Camelopardalis
19 Aug 201403h 04m 34s59d 29m 12s7.10.650Cassiopeia
20 Aug 201402h 46m 52s60d 58m 04s7.10.634Cassiopeia
21 Aug 201402h 26m 28s62d 20m 46s7.10.619Cassiopeia
22 Aug 201402h 03m 09s63d 33m 48s7.10.606Cassiopeia
23 Aug 201401h 36m 49s64d 33m 05s7.20.595Cassiopeia
24 Aug 201401h 07m 42s65d 14m 09s7.20.585Cassiopeia
25 Aug 201400h 36m 27s65d 32m 48s7.20.577Cassiopeia
26 Aug 201400h 04m 06s65d 25m 52s7.30.571Cassiopeia
27 Aug 201423h 31m 57s64d 51m 54s7.30.567Cepheus
28 Aug 201423h 01m 13s63d 51m 32s7.40.564Cepheus
29 Aug 201422h 32m 51s62d 27m 19s7.40.564Cepheus
30 Aug 201422h 07m 24s60d 43m 01s7.50.566Cepheus
31 Aug 201421h 44m 59s58d 42m 59s7.60.570Cepheus

See also

Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) now within small telescope range
Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) moves north, remains visible with binoculars
Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) passes north of the "W" of Cassiopeia
Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) remains within binocular range
Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) high in the sky during September